By Ernest Kearney — Well like a phoenix rising from a pandemic pyre the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2022 is here! Two hundred and twenty-six shows will entertain, amuse, inspire, thrill and dazzle audiences throughout the month of June. And here is a sampling of what is being offered:
COMEDIES:
MR. MALCOLM’S MUSIC FACTORY stars Lord Boom Boom stick the cat, Willow the garden weasel and Sandewanda the lizard in the for-all-ages puppet show written and directed by Matt Ritchey one of Hollywood Fringe’s heavy hitters, and a “Matt” from the legendary “Matt The Gathering” collection.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7410
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SUPERHOSTESS: Dogs, Sewage, & Alcohol. A Host’s Adventures in Home Sharing As a comedian, writer and keynote speaker Jan McInnis travels
“a ton.” Rather than leave her home empty she thought to make a few bucks by participating in the global “home sharing community.” All the stories are true, the names have been changed.https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7561
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GUMMY WORM by Playwright Nathaniel Foster follows four high school juniors who enroll in their school’s abstinence-only sex education class. Involving discussions of sex, abortion, sex, condoms, sex, STD, sex, LGBTQ youth and sex, it is obviously recommended for mature audiences. Directed by Ryan Hartley, produced by Nicole Ohara.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7458
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Curmudgeon Productions is offering up an interesting mash-up of A Christmas Carol with that other holiday favorite Hamlet in TO BAH OR NOT TO BAH HUMBUG written by Valerie Speaks and Dale Jones and directed by Jennifer Novak Chun.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7397
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NOT THAT ILLEGAL Tells the story of Ali Can (playwright Yusuf Yildiz) as he faces down the threat of deportation back to his native Turkey and the steps he and his friends will take to keep him in the good ol’ USA.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7339
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MUSICALS:
Clive Kennedy, is an award-winning songwriter, who promises his show REVELATION, will include some of the “greatest songs you’ve never heard.” Think Hank Williams by way of South Africa with a pinch of Bowie and a shake of Tom Lehrer stirred into the mix.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7521
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Charlotte Boyce Munson provides the book and performs in this musical about “the people’s princess” DI LADY DI. Music by the performer and Richard Munson, with the magnificent Scott Golden producing.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5094
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You can always expect to find musicals based on the most fantastical subject matters at the Fringe, and librettist Thomas Blakeley is behind two this year, which succeeds in pairing a true literary “odd couple.” First, with composer Felix Jarrar, Blakeley offers WASHINGTON SQUARE A CHAMBER OPERA based on the 1880 novel by Henry James, with which theatergoers and film junkies are more familiar, from its 1947 stage and film adaptations The Heiress which Olivia de Havilland would win the 1948 Best Actress Oscar.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7311
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Then bounding from fashionable New York of the 1840’s, and hooking up with composer Duncan Smith in mid-vault, Blakeley lands us in the fabled city of Oonai (circa Earth 24,000 B.C.E.) for A DREAM AT THE END OF TIME – A MUSICAL FANTASY based on the 1921 short story The Quest of Iranon by H.P. Lovecraft. Matthew Toronto, who helmed the Fringe’s 2021 crowd pleaser Gideon and The Blundersnorp, directs. (I am so sitting front row center for this one!)
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7485
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CAMP GINGER is a one-man musical starring that paragon of “gingerness” Steve Trzaska who will lead the audiences on a toe-tapping expedition of self discovery. With live musical accompaniment by songster Noel Katz.
Written and Performed by: Steve Trzaska
Music and Lyrics by: Noel Katz
Directed by: Joy Mamey
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6383
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Gordon Matheson, the mad genius behind No Matter Watt which had audiences from HFF21 tapping their toes returns with its “prequel” set ten years earlier SHUBOP-DUBAY-HAD. Directed by Soda Persi. (You can catch No Matter Watt on YouTube.)
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7388
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THE PALE GYPSY’S TRAVELING MUSICAL REVUE Four instruments, a multitude of characters and tales of love, mystery, science fiction and “pure nonsense.” Music, satire and a cast of thousands! Okay, I’m lying, a cast of one Chris Murphy.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7525
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TEACHING A ROBOT TO LOVE describes itself as “A heartwarming, queer, musical retelling of Frankenstein.” By Laser Webber and E. Aaron Wilson.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7343
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CASSANDRA,fabled Trojan priestess who could see future events, but was cursed by the god Apollo so that nobody would ever believe her prophecies, gets an interesting retelling by Anthea Carns and Kelly McMahon in this chamber musical that utilizes the songs of the “punk poet laureate” Patti Smith.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7512
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LUNA calls upon ancient Chinese mythology in this multimedia experience that combines dance and narrative in a reimagining of the Moon Goddess to reflect her light on the issues of modern womanhood. Duoyi Wang provides the script and direction, Lydia Li performs.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7351
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THE VERSE VIOLENT CHORUS – PART 1 This rock opera certainly has an intriguing concept; a demon from another dimension has taken possession of an onstage singer to warn us of a “sinister plot” against our world. Benjy Isb rocks as the possessed singer.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7444
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Shelly Cooper’s who shared her prodigious talents last with audiences at HFF21 in La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas returns to lament and question the pitfalls and peaks of modern romance in I WANNA FALL IN LOVE, featuring the music of Alexander Sage Oyen.
Hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7517
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FACT BASED SHOWS:
One of the two Flat Tire Theatre Company’s production at this Fringe is described as an “Enhanced Stage Reading of a new play by Thomas Vohasek.” The concept of 20TH CENTURY ART: AN ANTHOLOGY concerns meetings between Ernest Hemingway and J.R.R. Tolkien in the trenches of World War One, the ghost of John Lennon visiting David Bowie and other encounters of the artistic greats of this past century. The playwright co-directs with Natalie Pellegrini.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7433
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Brit Tommy Cooper (1921-1984) is not on the radar of most Americans, the fez wearing Cooper was one of Britain’s most beloved comics, who influenced the comedy of both Andy Kaufman and Steven Wright. Cooper was the king of the lefthanded one-liners: “Two blondes walked into a building. You’d have thought one would have seen it.” “I cleaned the attic with my wife the other day. Now I can’t get the cobwebs out of her hair.” In TOMMY COOPER – I DIDN’T LET YOU DOWN DID I? writer-performer Niek Versteeg explores the life of this tragic funnyman. Directed by Sean Cowhig and produced by Nicole Cabbiness.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7462
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Jamie Galen directs and performs as Truman Capote in the one-man show TRU the 1989 play by Jay Presson Allan adapted from the words and works of the late razor-sharp tongued author. (This will only be the first act of that play, which will be satisfying enough, I assure you.)
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7509
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Fringe favorite Mitchell Bisschop (I Can Hear You Now) portrays Mike Royko, the Pulitzer Prize winning columnist who was the voice of Chicago until his death in 1997 in THE TOUGHEST MAN IN CHICAGO directed by Matt Pardue. Produced by Matthew Robinson and Megan Ford-Miller.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7567
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NOOR INAYAT KHAN: THE FORGOTTEN SPY takes us to the last thirty minutes in a Gestapo prison of Khan, an Indian woman sent as a British spy into Nazi Germany as she awaits her execution. Written and performed by Almanya Narula. Mehr Kaur co-directs.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7519
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DRAMAS:
Steve Vlasak whose past Fringe show Nights At the Algonquin Round Table was a favorite with HFF17 audiences, returns with BEAUTIFUL MONSTERZ; a modern day riff on Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. His cast features a dream team of Fringe heavy-hitting talent in Roz Stanley, Bruno Oliver and Richard Lucas.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/5070
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Playwright Lynn Grant Beck’s ALL AMERICAN tackles this nation’s recurring nightmare of school shootings, and for her examination of this issue she’s taken an approach that is certainly original: Two families, one from 1974, the other from 2020 living in the same house simultaneously. Beck describes it as “a play about hope for our tumultuous times.” Directed by Michael Strauss. https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7477
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The FCP Theatre Group, Molly Thomas, Cooper McAdoo, Elliot White and Harrison White, will be presenting three short works by David Mamet under the umbrella title, NO ONE WILL BE IMMUNE. Also included in the evening will be Almost Done and A Perfect Mermaid. (I learned that “FCP” stands for “Foster Cat Productions.” Apparently Elliot and Harry are committed to rescuing stray kittens and cats and finding homes for them. Kudos to the guys, I say!)
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7539
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THE SPOOKY AND DISTRUBING:
Billing itself as an “Extra Bloody Late-Night Spectacular!” THE PIG FARM promises to turn into a “rollicking debate on faith, the afterlife, and the existence of the devil herself.” Written by Richard Paul Klein and directed by John Wayne Leingang.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6836
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IT’S IN OUR BONES involves a woman at a remote cabin for six months trying to write the ultimate suicide note and a mysterious drifter claiming he knows supernatural family secrets. Written and directed by Nicholas Buda and produced by Liz Buda.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7454
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Here is the second of the two Flat Tire Theatre Company’s productions at this Fringe, THIS REMAINS BETWEEN US bills itself as a “macabre and darkly funny play” about two sisters returning to their childhood home only to encounter a dark secret that is lurking in the attic. Co-written and co-directed by Katherine Wei and Morgyn Utzman.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7432
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SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK & ROLL:
THE IRISH CURSE is a “comedic look at male masculinity” focusing on…on… oh, I’m sure you can guess. Directed by Hilary Staton.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7382
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Annie Sprinkle, sexologist, videographer, sex worker, performance artist, counterculture icon, and proponent of “feminist pornography is the subject of Sophia Lapaglia’s one-woman show THE ANNIE SPRINKLE PROJECT:REFLACTION OF A POST PORN MODERNIST which promises an “interactive exploration of feminism, radical love and the healing impact of theater.”
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7409
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David Lucarelli, whose Doctor Zomba’s Ghost Show of Terror supplied Fringe 2018 with spooky fun, returns with CRUDE an unauthorized play about the singing Sultans of Sleaze, Los Angeles’ own saints Mötley Crüe, the world’s most notorious rock band. Lucarelli promises sexual assault, drug abuse, explicit language and violence. So, parents, if you want to check out this show it may be best to lock the kiddies in the car trunk.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6755
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ASEXUALITY – THE SOLO MUSICAL is a solo show by Rebecca McGlynn who will play 19 characters, sing 12 songs and share with audiences her transitional days as “Robert.” Directed by Heather Dowling.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7486
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TIGHT: SEXY STORIES ABOUT PELVIC PAIN tells the tale of one woman’s struggle to overcome sexual dysfunction written and performed by Becky Feldman.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7296
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ONE PERSON SHOWS:
Bonnie He, creator, producer and clown brings us A TERRIBLE SHOW FOR TERRIBLE PEOPLE, forty-five minutes of pure physical comedy interrupted by only “two words.” Heck, I’ll be there just to hear what those two words are.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/6450
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Teruko Nakajima relates the perils and pitfalls of journeying into that fabled land called “America.” She promises that MADE IN AMERICA will contain: “dancing, singing, things you don’t know about Japan, things you don’t know about America, her stories and her dog.” (I don’t know anything else about this show, but I can tell you her dog is a real cutie pie!)
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7419
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SCHMALTZY & PRINCIE: DIARY OF A NOT-SO-GREAT DADDY’S GIRL written and performed by MaryLee Herrmann revolves around a pending deadline for the Sundance screenwriting competition and a wannabe writer facing that harsh truth that the script won’t just type itself.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7317
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In THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY: A SKEPTIC’S GUIDE TO THE AFTERLIFE writer and performer Larry Davidson uses magic, interactive games and puppets to recreate his near death experience. (Puppets? Interesting….) Directed by Heather Dowling.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7298
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INTERNATIONAL SHOWS:
Cassandra Moselle’s nine woman ensemble cast for BUSKERS BALL presents a modern vaudeville show wrapped around a classic whodunit mystery about an escape killer out for vengeance.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7337
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ARE YOU LOVIN’ IT? This wacky romp from Japan has scored big at the Edmonton Fringe, the Orlando Fringe, as well as the Tampa and San Diego Fringes. What does Ryo Nishihara intent for his audiences? How about a mixture of Japanese TV game show, anime, Krazy Kitty and just for good measure – Trump.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7606
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I’M WITH STUPID A transplant from New Jersey to Spain, J.D. Shapiro tells tales of the many scripts he has worked on such as Robin Hood: Men In Tights and the adaptation of L. Ron Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth (for which he has publicly apologized) and the icons he has crossed paths with such as Mel Brooks, Stan Lee and others. Produced by Michael Blaha and Samantha de Gyarfas.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7528
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VINCERÒ – THE ITALIAN OPERA EXPERIENCE An evening of some of the best known and most beloved arias from Italian Operas performed by artists Natalja Sticco and Germán Gholami who promise an irreverent take that will make opera lovers out of everyone.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7555
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AFGHANISTAN IS NOT FUNNY Edinburgh Fringe veteran Henry Naylor whose show Echoes was one of the top picks of HFF18 recounts his adventures in the Afghan warzone and reflects on Afghanistan now with the Taliban’s return. Another production by Michael Blaha and Samantha de Gyarfas.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7531
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WEST by Welsh playwright Owen Thomas and starring Welsh actors Gareth John Bale and Gwenllian Higginson tells the story of two young emigrants who leave Wales to seek their fortune in the America of the 1800’s.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7530
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THE TANNER, another hit from the Edinburgh Fringe, this one-man show, written and performed by Alex Mcsherry, tells the epic story of Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace, (the subject of the 1995 film Braveheart) as seen through the eyes of a common soldier.
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7529
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From our neighbors to the north, America’s “big hat” Canada, comes TOO BIG FOR HER BRITCHES, Lisa Pezik’s one woman show of 25 characters that covers toxic mothering, suicide, heartbreak, eating disorders, bullying as one woman’s “Inner Shame” and “Inner Warrioress” do battle to the death. With original music by Drew Lawrence and choreography by Pamela Najera. Directed by Heather Dowling. (My, she’s a busy little bee!)
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7422
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There you have it: A cross section of 45 shows that will be part of HFF22. For the other 181 productions, check out the Hollywood Fringe website at Hollywoodfringe.org and explore to your hearts delight. Our long, enforced severance from art and joy, gayety, music, magic and our fellow LAers is at an end.
